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Welcome to our page with important and helpful rules for the road. There are many regulations for truckers nationwide and in California. The award-winning and aggressive Ehline Law Firm writes this page to help autoists and educate truck drivers and the trucking companies they haul for. If you have additional questions, call us and leave a message. We promptly return calls to commercial truck drivers and other auto accident victims.
Below I will detail the rules for passenger-carrying drivers, as well as property-carrying drivers and other rules the trucking company must follow to obviate a truck accident.
First of all, you already know that trucks that are 18-wheelers or big rigs are hefty and large. These vehicles cause a large percentage of motor vehicle accidents. Also, the United States roadways remain filled with these steel beasts.
Due to their size and weight, making them more likely than cars to cause fatalities, rules were promulgated at the state and federal levels. Also, established commercial licensing in Title 49 is mandatory.
There are numerous reasons why trucking accidents happen. And an experienced legal expert will tell you the number one reason is fatigue. According to the NHTSA, overworked and tired truckers lead in auto accidents. And this is despite strong regulation in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
So these are most of the regulations that govern commercial motor operators. And these rules also include the Hours of Service. So this is the amount of time that the employee is permitted to drive daily. Plus, it regulates the amount of rest they must have.
Many states have sleep requirements. But a general rule exists for California employees. Mostly, for every 12 hours of driving, you must take 10 hours of rest. (Read more.)
When an accident occurs, the driving log is one of the best forms of evidence. The other factors that can provide evidence are the employee’s overall safety record.
So this will include the:
So this would record obvious negligence, such as using a cell phone or texting. After all, this contributes to motor vehicle accidents, and we all know this.
This risk has not gone unnoticed; the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin (FMCSA) proposed legislation that would ban handheld cell phones while driving in all states. There are already many states with laws prohibiting handheld cell phones by drivers.
California is one of the states that outlaw the use of phones in your hand while driving. And they also include 18-wheelers in this ban. When the law was enacted in 2008, drivers with a Class A or B license did not need to comply.
So back then, the cell phone law was not applicable in states other than those that had their own regulations. The FMCSA outlines the training requirements for drivers.
Evidence of operator training is prime for a trucker accident case.
Also included are the following:
Furthermore, a mandate exists for:
The rules for property-carrying drivers can vary depending on the country and jurisdiction. However, in general, property-carrying drivers are subject to a set of regulations that are designed to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of other road users.
Some of the most important rules for property carrying drivers include the following:
Overall, the rules for property carrying drivers are designed to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of other road users, and to promote responsible and efficient commercial transportation.
The rules for passenger-carrying drivers can vary depending on the country and jurisdiction. However, in general, passenger-carrying drivers are subject to a set of regulations that are designed to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of their passengers and other road users.
Some of the most important rules for passenger-carrying drivers include:
Overall, the rules for passenger-carrying drivers are designed to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of their passengers and other road users, and to promote responsible and efficient commercial transportation.
Will this be self-driving soon?
Tesla is in all of the headlines lately. And for more than just launching a car on the way to Mars. Elon Musk and his company want to take over the car industry with bold ideas. Tesla’s top experiment is self-driving cars. As of today, it is unclear whether the company can pull it off.
However, what is more explicit are the project’s inherent risks. Self-driving cars are among the riskiest things going technologically. Google the term self-driving car, and the results show up with “accident” as one of the top ones. USA Today reported on the fact that new self-driving trucks will likely have the ability to choose who would die in an accident.
Human nature is fallible enough. Imagine putting the life of your family in the hands of several circuits. What is less obvious is the companies that will adopt the technology. One Tesla semi comes with a 300-mile range for $150k, and another with a 500-mile range for $180,000. Ouch. Tesla claims it will start production in 2019, and several prominent corporations have them on pre-order, including Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Sysco, UPS, and even Wal-Mart.
Each of the companies above is making a bet on the tech that isn’t out of its infancy. Worse yet, they are a danger as presently constructed. Self-driving car tech is likely decades away from fluency, not just a year or so. Furthermore, this overconfidence is likely a fatal flaw in road safety and these companies’ plans.
However, poor ideas haven’t stopped people before. But it appears that they will proceed. The numbers above represent just a fraction of these companies’ overall fleets.
However, they may be a trend that is difficult to reverse once started. Once these vehicles are on the road, they could represent a significant shift away from the safety of motor vehicle travel we’ve grown accustomed to and toward something much less predictable.
Any of these regulations or negligence of them can be a factor in the injury or death in a crash. Michael P. Ehline, Esq. will investigate. That way, he can determine if any regulations have been followed.
Then we can hold whoever is at fault responsible. And then you can recover the compensation that you deserve. If you would like more information, please feel free to call (213) 596-9642. Or click here to visit our personal injury home page.
Michael Ehline
Michael Ehline is an inactive U.S. Marine and world-famous legal historian. Michael helped draft the Cruise Ship Safety Act and has won some of U.S. history’s largest motorcycle accident settlements. Together with his legal team, Michael and the Ehline Law Firm collect damages on behalf of clients. We pride ourselves on being available to answer your most pressing and difficult questions 24/7. We are proud sponsors of the Paul Ehline Memorial Motorcycle Ride and a Service Disabled Veteran Operated Business. (SDVOB.) We are ready to fight.
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